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1986 190E 2.3-16 in NorCal

Hello fellow 190 enthusiasts,

Just starting a build thread on my 190. I picked it up a month or two ago from someone who's had it for 15+ years, it currently has an approximate ~212,000 miles and I am slowly improving it. Goal is to restore it AND make it track ready. I've done some small things such as replace all tie rods, replace the valve cover gasket, etc. For pictures: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1...jJaZ21GbEdvMkE

The plan is to cover the following items:

Wheels - ordered a set of TH1781s from Compomotive

Suspension - still deciding on whether to try and fit coilovers in (https://catuned.com/w201-1982-1993-m...ng-in-one-unit) or go with a Koni/H&R combination, replace all bushings and other necessary components. Does the subframe need reinforcement, as with M3s? If going with stiffer, non-coilover springs in the front is it necessary to reinforce the body in those sections?

Brakes - from my research it shows that the 400E ~300mm brake upgrade seems to be the most beneficial. I wasn't really able to find some good aftermarket rotors though... Any tips?

Transmission - swap in a manual. The torque converter is struggling in the auto and the auto-clutch doesn't smell so good sometimes...

Looking forward to seeing those wheels.
Ground control is also an option and has complete rear frame adjustable arms.
Can't go wrong with 400e brakes, if you can find 600sl even better.
The subframe will most likely need bracing.

dont bother with aftermarket rotors, stick with brembo blanks. they can handle the track just fine. it's all up to the pads you choose and these days there's much better selection of some really great pads out there. the only bad thing about the 400's are their heft, being cast iron, they are heavy and will add a fair amount to your unsprung weight.

with a nice exhaust, header back, you can easily make up power for the compression difference between NAM and ECE engines without changing the pistons.

Looking forward to seeing those wheels.
Ground control is also an option and has complete rear frame adjustable arms.
Can't go wrong with 400e brakes, if you can find 600sl even better.
The subframe will most likely need bracing.

I'm looking forward to seeing the wheels too. Just ordered a corresponding set of Michelin Pilot Super Sport for commuting/track use to fit on these rims.

Just checked out the options available from ground control, looks like they also have a full coilover kit. I'll reach out to them. Still not sure how stiff to go to make it still driveable on the rough CA roads.

320mm instead of 300mm? That's a significant step up from the ~286 that are the stock rotors in the 16v... Hmm...

Any recommendations on bracing? I'm guessing there are kits weld-in/bolt-on kits available. A friend of mine had his E46 done at a local shop, I'll check to see what that would run me.

Originally Posted by secretmachine

dont bother with aftermarket rotors, stick with brembo blanks. they can handle the track just fine. it's all up to the pads you choose and these days there's much better selection of some really great pads out there. the only bad thing about the 400's are their heft, being cast iron, they are heavy and will add a fair amount to your unsprung weight.

with a nice exhaust, header back, you can easily make up power for the compression difference between NAM and ECE engines without changing the pistons.

Brembo blanks in stock size (~286mm), like this, or blanks for a 400E? Right now with a set of Riken Raptor and stock brakes I can easily lock up all four wheels. Not sure how much it'll change with the new tires.

Any recommendations for exhaust from manifold back? I've gotten a quote from Stroemung. The main reason why I was going to inspect the engine and potentially rebuild parts of it since I need to fix a few things here and there anyways: it leaks a bit of oil out of a few orifices and there's a fair amount of carbon build up in the engine potentially due to blow-by or old valve stem seals.

Welcome to the club I live in San Mateo myself. I would say focus on driveability issues and passing smog first. Suspension should be next. Watch my diy youtube videos

Thanks for the videos, Chris. Actually bought this one from someone in San Mateo! It's already passed smog and fairly driveable, minus the suspension bushings and springs/shocks which were crudely cut and pretty worn. That's why I plan on doing shocks, springs and bushings in one go.

The front end should be easy just make sure you have the time and a second car handy if you need to get parts. The fronts should take you a day if you're really good at wrenching. The rear is tricky as you need to source the subframe bushings making sure to get the German or Italian made bushings. Feel free to contact me via youtube or here if you have questions.

The front end should be easy just make sure you have the time and a second car handy if you need to get parts. The fronts should take you a day if you're really good at wrenching. The rear is tricky as you need to source the subframe bushings making sure to get the German or Italian made bushings. Feel free to contact me via youtube or here if you have questions.

Thanks for the info, Chris! Will probably start with the fronts first since most of that seems to be the root cause for the handling issues.

Does anyone have experience with CATuned or GroundControl? Right now, going with their full shock and spring kits seem to be two of my three options. The third being just getting a set of Koni's and non-coilover H&R springs.

Any recommendations on where to get bushings for all four corners? I've found individual ones on Rockauto and AutohausAZ, but a kit would be really nice. The poly bushings from Hedgehog motorsports are really nice, but the price is more than I can justify.

I put the new wheels (Compomotive TH1781 - 17x8 et35) and tires (Michelin Pilot SS - 215x45R17) on today. I was initially planning on leaving them off until I fix the soft front suspension, but not only was there a screw in my front wheel but one of the arms on the wheel disk was actually fractured all the way through. See pictures below.

why would anyone drop more money on shipping than the parts costs? ake is not in a good position to sell to the US. go for these bushings instead, way better price and much better quality - http://www.strongflex.eu/en/1230-w201-190

cant go wrong with GC suspension, jay will help you customize it to the car based on your plans of how you are going to use it. catuned is for the low look, they will not support you like GC does if you use it like it should be used.

you hardly ever drive your car bud. the delrin subframe ones i got from ake have squished out from track use. strongflex is what's up.

my advice is to not waste your money with ake. the quality is half-ass on everything made and you pay double for the pleasure. i and many others have had to learn that lesson personally. don't want to heed the warning? all good, waste your money, i'll keep the good legit part information to myself ;p

i made a video for replacing rear subframe bushings if your planning on doing those. Since your using non-oem mounts take the the home depot tools used with a grain of salt since the shape of the mounts might be different.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z_W_cZeX88
replacing the suspension arms is easier w/ the subframe atleast lowered.

a change of the durometer for the delrin could've made them last longer but it's no worries in the end now that there's more options on the market. strongflex has a great price point and the quality of the poly they use and the supporting hardware is excellent. their full kit is also for literally everything, even the toe arm.

Has anyone installed the rear subframe bushings from strongflex? The rear subframe front bushings are straightforward as the bushing that is inserted into the subframe rests against the chassis and on the other side the washer-like poly bushing is sandwiched between the subframe and the provided larger metal washer, then fastened by the subframe bolt. However, the washer-like bushings on the rear subframe rear bushings don't really make any sense to me. I would have imagined that they go between the subframe and the chassis (inverse of the front) but the hole in this washer isn't large enough for the threaded part that sticks out of the chassis. Looking at strongflex's website, it seems to be by design in this picture: https://www.strongflex.eu/en/w124/16...553521993.html

Unfortunately they don't provide any proper documentation. I will try to give them a call tomorrow, but any help would be appreciated.